The Co-Cathedral of Saint Johns in Valletta was built by Grand Master La Cassière, who reigned in Malta between 1572 and 1581. Designed by Maltese architect Gerolamo Cassar, the monumental church became the Conventual Church of the Order. Saint John’s Co-Cathedral is certainly Cassar’s most important work. Work started in 1573, and the church was finally consecrated in 1578 by the Archbishop of Monreale, Monsignor Ludovico de Torres.
Saint John’s Co-Cathedral shows several influences from Italian Renaissance and Mannerist architecture that Cassar had brought to Malta from his study tour. Saint John’s Co-Cathedral also shows some influences from Michelangelo’s design for the apse of Saint Peter’s in Rome.
The austere building style – as seen on the façade of the Co-Cathedral – is very typical of Cassar’s designs. His building style intended to reflect the military character of the Order. Therefore, the façade of Saint Johns Co-Cathedral shows hardly any decoration. Moreover, the two towers make the church almost resemble a fort. The foundation stone was laid soon after the Great Siege at a time when the Order was in a very sober military mood. Unlike other churches the co-cathedral represents a striking contrast between the facade and the huge burst of baroque exuberance within the cathedral.
The façade between the two towers is divided into two storeys by a horizontal cornice. The vertical line of the façade is accentuated by Doric pilasters on both levels. On the lower level, the main entrance of the church is flanked by two Doric columns, supporting a balcony. The two niches next to the portal were originally meant to contain statues. On the upper level of the façade you can see a rectangular door, leading to the balcony and which is surrounded by an arch. The central part of the façade is crowned by a triangular gable.
The two bell-towers of the Co-Cathedral are three storeys high. The arched openings on all sides of the towers’ upper storey house the bells. The towers are crowned by octagonal spires.
Every Language of the Order is represented in the Church by a particular chapel. One can see the chapels of Auvergne, Provence, France, Italy, Aragon, England, Germany and Castile.
The first chapel that was decorated with rich marble and silver was that of the blessed sacrament. This was adorned with the most precious blessed icon of our Lady of Philermos. Before every battle the Knights used to congregates in this chapel and pray to the virgin for interception and very often if they were successful they would go back to the chapel and present the symbolical keys of the conquered fortresses there. Some of the keys coming from the northern coast of Africa still hang in this chapel.
The chapel of the blessed sacrament was originally dedicated to the much venerated Byzantine miraculous icon of Our Lady of Philermos which the Knights brought with them from Rhodes in 1530. After the loss of Rhodes, the icon followed the Knights on their seven year exile and, between 1524- 27, it was venerated in the collegiate church of SS. Faustino and Giovita at Viterbo.
In Malta it was placed in the church of St. Lawrence at Birgu where it escaped damage when the church was destroyed by fire in 1532. After the building of Valletta, it was transferred first to the church of the Virgin of Victories and subsequently to the conventual church when a chapel had been prepared to receive it.
When the island was surrendered to Napoleon in 1798, the icon was stripped of its precious ornaments and followed Hompesch into exile. The icon is in good condition, with both the painting and its precious covering still intact and is now in the National Museum of Cetinje, Montenegro. It measures 50 by 37cm and has a rich gold covering which leaves only the face of the Virgin exposed. On the gold covering there is the eight-pointed cross in enamel that radiated round the head of the Virgin. A precious halo surrounds the face, decorated with a row of precious stones and adorned with nine huge rubies alternating with diamonds set in a flower pattern.
Each chapel is adorned with beautiful paintings and the walls are covered in sculpture. Each chapel carries a small dome and gets its light from a semi-circular window on the outer wall. The unusual feature of the interior of Saint Johns cathedral lies in its emphasized horizontal alignment to the east. This is caused by the rather low nave, which makes the church appear wider and shorter than it actually is.
Saint Johns has many treasures. One of the highlights of this distinctive attraction is its polychrome marble floors. It has 400 tomb stones each with their original designs having very rich symbolism within their designs inlaid and all cut by hand. One of the most pronounced symbol on the tombs is the skeleton and father time holding the hour glass. The perception of the skeleton in those days was that it is a representation of the dance of death that entails the end of the mortal natural life but the beginning of the internal life with God in heaven. This explains the colourful resemblance of the designs that do not have morbid symbols and have a very festive mood with joyful angels and inscriptions that explains the success of the knight during his knighthood. This expressive symbolic representation is exposed literally on these tombs. For example in one of the tombs the skeleton who is wearing the shroud of death is shown outside of the prison cell. This symbolically express that the Knight was liberated from the mortal death and is heading towards the internal reward to heaven.
A tradition honoured by every new Grand Master to give the Conventual Church a splendid gift upon election led to the Cathedral acquiring the riches we can see today. Grand Master Perellos gave the set of Belgian tapestries. Grand Master Carafa’s gift was the high altar. There were other benefactors, not necessarily Grand Masters: the Knight Flamino Balbiano embellished the chapel of Our Lady of Philermos and another Knight, Stefano Maria Lomellini, adorned the Oratory’s ceiling.
The Co-Cathedral of Saint Johns can also be viewed as a veritable museum of the works of painter and knight Mattia Preti, an artist from Calabria who lived and died in Malta. The ceiling of the church depicting scenes from the life of Saint John the Baptist; the three paintings in the oratory representing episodes from the Passion of Christ; as well as other paintings situated in the lateral chapels of Saint Paul, Saint Catherine and Saint James – these works are indeed some of the masterpieces executed by Preti, who after his death in 1699 was burried in the selfsame church.
Two priceless gems by the great Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio are foremost among Malta’s artistic treasures. These are the famous ‘Beheading of Saint John’, the Oratory’s altarpiece, and ‘Saint Jerome’ in the Chapel of Italy.
A walk around the Co-Cathedral’s chapels is an excellent way for the visitor to admire the several monuments commemorating different Grand Masters of the Order. The ones that stand out are those honouring Grand Masters Perellos, Vilhena, Zondadari and Pinto. The workmanship in bronze and marble is of extraordinary quality.
A visit inside the Cathedral’s crypt is also recommended since here are found the remains of many-a-knight whose name is carved in the annals of our history, like L’Isle Adam, La Valette, La Cassière and de Verdalle. A seperate museum is also annexed to the Cathedral. In this museum, many works of art can be appreciated, the highlight of which is a set of tapestries made in the factory of Judecos de Vos and presented by Grand Master Perellos.
The Co Cathedral of Saint John is indeed a monument to both the Christain Faith and to Art, bequethed by the Knights of the Order of Saint John who call themselves the Shield of Europe celebrates with great pomp their supremacy and catholic faith in their rich decorative detail of the interior of the Co Cathedral.
